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Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (RIRI) is a common pathological process that causes kidney injury. Previous studies have indicated that both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and microRNA-21 (miR-21) exert protective effects against RIRI. However, their relationship is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the role of the PPARγ/miR-21/programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) axis in IRI, both in vivo and in vitro. In vitro cell hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) and in vivo RIRI models were established, and cell viability, cell apoptosis, and key molecule expression profiles were analyzed. Our results showed that both PPARγ and miR-21 had protective effects against RIRI to varying degrees, and there was an interaction between PPARγ and miR-21. PPARγ could promote the expression of miR-21 and partially protect against RIRI by reducing the level of the miR-21 target protein (PDCD4). Our findings underscore the potential utility of future clinical investigations of PPARγ activation and targeting of the underlying miR-21/PDCD4/caspase-3 pathway, which may participate in the pathogenesis of human IRI.

Gliomas, the most prevalent brain tumors, account for nearly one-third of the all brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors diagnosed in the USA. The purpose of this study was to discuss the important role of A kinase-interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) in glioma and reveal the potential mechanism. After prediction by CCLE, the expression of AKIP1 was determined by qRT-PCR and western blot. The impacts of AKIP1 knockdown on the proliferation, migration, and invasion were then measured by MTT, colony formation assay, wound healing, and transwell assays. Western blot was used to assess the protein levels of migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition- (EMT-) related factors. Subsequently, the expression of Disks Large Homolog 2 (DLG2) was predicted by bioinformatics analyses, and the interaction between AKIP1 and DLG2 was confirmed by IP assay, qRT-PCR, and western blot. Finally, DLG2 was further downregulated in glioma cells to detect the association between AKIP1 and DLG2 in the cellular functions of glioma. It was demonstrated that AKIP1 exhibited a high level in glioma cells, and interference of AKIP1 led to reductions in the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of glioma cells. DLG2, which was lowly expressed in glioma cells, demonstrated a negative link to AKIP2. Inhibition of both AKIP2 and DLG2 counteracted the inhibited cellular behaviors on account of AKIP1 interference. To be concluded, this study presented evidence that AKIP1 silencing suppressed the progression of glioma via targeting DLG2, which could provide novel insights to impede the development of glioma.

Aim. To further investigate the mechanism behind the antitumor properties of berberine regarding lipid metabolism. Methods. Cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis assays were performed to determine the antigrowth effects of berberine in vitro. Ectopic xenograft models in Balb/c nude mice were established to determine the antitumor effects of berberine in vivo. Results. Berberine inhibited cell viability and proliferation of MGC803 human gastric cancer cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Berberine induced apoptosis of MGC803 and increased the apoptotic rate with higher doses. Berberine induced the accumulation of fatty acid of MGC803 and suppressed the protein expression of FABPs and PPARα. The FABP inhibitor BMS309403 recapitulated the effects of berberine on MGC803 cells. In the xenograft model, berberine significantly decreased the tumor volume and tumor weight and induced apoptosis in tumor tissues. Berberine significantly elevated the fatty acid content and inhibited the expression of FABPs and PPARα in the MGC803 xenograft models. Conclusion. Berberine exerted anticancer effects on human gastric cancer both in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis, which was due to the reduced protein expression of FABPs and the accumulation of fatty acid.

Coptis chinensis (CC) is widely used to treat diabetes in traditional Chinese medicine due to its significant hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. It was reported that CC powders are more effective than CC decoctions. In this study, a rat model of type 2 diabetes was established and treated with supercritical-extracted CC and gastric juice extracted CC, respectively. Body weight, fasting plasma insulin, insulin resistance index, and lipid profiles were measured along with oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs). In addition, the levels of plasma proteins were compared between type 2 diabetic rats and CC-treated rats using an iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis. The results showed that the plasma levels of triglyceride (TC), total cholesterol (TG), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in rats of both CC-treated groups were significantly decreased. In addition, the proteomic analysis identified 929 proteins, while 15 proteins were selected from these 929 proteins based on their expression levels and bioinformatic results. Among these 15 proteins, 9 proteins (IGF-1, Igfbp4, Igfbp-6, Igfals, C2, C4, Cfi, Prdx-2, and Prdx-3) were upregulated in the two CC-treated groups, while 6 proteins (Pla2g7, Pcyox1, ApoC-1, ApoC-3, ApoB-100, and ApoE) were downregulated. The functions of these proteins are associated with glucose metabolism, insulin action, immunity, inflammation, lipid metabolism, oxidation, and antioxidation. The two differently extracted CC did not show significant differences in terms of their treatment efficacy. This research expanded our understanding on the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of CC in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The line-of-balance (LOB) technique has demonstrated many advantages in scheduling repetitive projects, one of which is that it allows more than one crew to be hired by an activity concurrently. The deadline satisfaction problem in LOB scheduling (DSPLOB) aims to find an LOB schedule such that the project is completed within a given deadline and the total number of crews is minimized. Previous studies required a strict application of crew work continuity, which may lead to a decline in the competitiveness of solutions. This paper introduces work interruptions into the DSPLOB and presents a biobjective optimization model that can balance the two conflicting objectives of minimizing the total number of crews and maximizing work continuity. An efficient version of theϵ-constraint method is customized to find all feasible tradeoff solutions. Then, these solutions are further improved by an automated procedure to reduce the number of interruptions for each activity without deteriorating the performance in both the objectives. The effectiveness and practicability of the proposed model are verified using a considerable number of instances. The results show that introducing work interruptions provides more flexibility in reducing the total number of crews under the LOB framework, especially for serial projects with a tight deadline constraint.

Lead (Pb) exposure, in particular during early postnatal life, increases susceptibility to cognitive dysfunction and neurodegenerative outcomes. The detrimental effect of Pb exposure is basically due to an increasing ROS production which overcomes the antioxidant systems and finally leads to cognitive dysfunction. Kiwifruit is rich in the antioxidants like vitamin C and polyphenols. This study aims to investigate the effects and mechanism of kiwifruit to alleviate learning and memory deficits induced by Pb exposure. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat pups acquired Pb indirectly through their mothers during lactation period and after postnatal day 21 (PND21) directly acquired Pb by themselves. Five kinds of kiwifruits were collected in this study and the amounts of vitamin C and polyphenols in them were measured and the antioxidation effects were determined. Among them, Qinmei kiwifruit (Qm) showed the strongest antioxidation effects in vitro. In vivo, Qm significantly repaired Pb-induced learning and memory deficits and dendritic spine loss. In addition, Pb compromised the enzymatic activity and transcriptional levels of SOD and GSH-Px and decreased the microglial activation, which, to some extent, could be reversed by Qm kiwifruit administration. The results suggest that kiwifruit could alleviate Pb-induced cognitive deficits possibly through antioxidative stress and microglia inactivation. Consequently, kiwifruit could be potentially regarded as the functional food favorable in the prevention and treatment of Pb intoxication.

Jiao Tai Wan (JTW), a Chinese herbal formula containing Rhizoma Coptidis and Cortex Cinnamomi, has been used for diabetic treatment for many years. The aim of this study was to determine the main components in JTW and to investigate the effects of JTW on hepatic lipid accumulation in diabetic rats and humans. JTW extract was prepared and the main components were assayed by HPLC. An animal model of diabetes mellitus was established and JTW was administered intragastrically. In the clinical study, diabetic patients with poor glycemic control were treated with JTW. Blood glucose and lipid parameters, liver histology, hepatic triglyceride content and lipogenic gene expression were examined. Our data demonstrated that JTW significantly improved hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hepatic lipid accumulation in diabetic rats. This was accompanied by the down-regulation of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) protein expressions, and the up-regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and phosphorylated-ACC (pACC) protein expressions in the liver tissues. Diabetic patients also exhibited decreases in their hepatic triglyceride content. The results suggest that JTW attenuates hepatic lipid accumulation in diabetic rats and humans. These beneficial effects are possibly associated with the inhibition of lipogenic gene expression in the liver.

The study of traditional resource leveling problem aims at minimizing the resource usage fluctuations and obtaining sustainable resource supplement, which is accomplished by adjusting noncritical activities within their start and finish time. However, there exist limitations in terms of the traditional resource leveling problem based on the fixed project duration. This paper assumes that the duration can be changed in a certain range and then analyzes the relationship between the scarce resource usage fluctuations and project cost. This paper proposes an optimization model for the multiresource leveling problem. We take into consideration five kinds of cost: the extra hire cost when the resource demand is greater than the resource available amount, the idle cost of resource when the resource available amount is greater than the resource demand, the indirect cost related to the duration, the liquidated damages when the project duration is extended, and the incentive fee when the project duration is reduced. The optimal objective of this model is to minimize the sum of the aforementioned five kinds of cost. Finally, a case study is examined to highlight the characteristic of the proposed model at the end of this paper.

This paper presents an algorithm for the estimation of the direction of arrival (DOA) in underdetermined situations, that is, there is more sources than sensors. The algorithm performs the estimation in an iterative manner, each iteration consists of two-steps: first estimation of the DOA of a dominant source via the Independent Component Analysis and then removal of the detected source from the mixture via time-frequency masking. Experiments, performed using speech signals mixed in real environment when only two microphones are used but three and four sources are present, demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can estimate the DOAs more accurately than two previously used underdetermined DOA algorithms.

Acute burn injuries are among the most devastating forms of trauma and lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Appropriate fluid resuscitation after severe burn, specifically during the first 48 hours following injury, is considered as the single most important therapeutic intervention in burn treatment. Although many formulas have been developed to estimate the required fluid amount in severe burn patients, many lines of evidence showed that patients still receive far more fluid than formulas recommend. Overresuscitation, which is known as “fluid creep,” has emerged as one of the most important problems during the initial period of burn care. If fluid titration can be personalized and automated during the resuscitation phase, more efficient burn care and outcome will be anticipated. In the present study, a dynamic urine output based infusion rate prediction model was developed and validated during the initial 48 hours in severe thermal burn adult patients. The experimental results demonstrated that the developed dynamic fluid resuscitation model might significantly reduce the total fluid volume by accurately predicting hourly urine output and has the potential to aid fluid administration in severe burn patients.